


mall au i guess lmao

by Haddi_Etana3



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: AU, F/F, F/M, JUST, M/M, Mall AU, Missing Persons, Only tagged frequent characters, a bit self indulgent, btw transmale pidge and transmale keith because u cant stop me, heads up, male pronouns for pidge, may be ooc please hmu with tips, nsfw will occur later on tho, pidge and shiro besties then besties more than besties then wooooooo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-14
Updated: 2016-09-15
Packaged: 2018-08-08 18:46:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7769017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Haddi_Etana3/pseuds/Haddi_Etana3
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shiro is just trying to deal with a missing arm, a pressuring boss, and hardcore PTSD all while working as a secuity officer. Then Pidge just had to break in one night.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Shiro rubbed his temples, trying his best to keep his composure. There were two women, one older and the other much younger; to be more specific a grandmother and her granddaughter. He was in _Bath & Bodyworks_, both ladies holding onto different candle scents. Shiro had been radio'ed on there being an incident where two women were verbally fighting and nothing more, but this once he wished that they did give context. It wasn't that he didn't know how to handle fights. No, a regular argument was something he could deal with- but this was new.

"Please, what's the issue?" He had asked, expecting the regular "She stole the last Cherry Blossom scent." or, "She cut me in line!"

What he didn't expect was the granddaughter to screech, "My _grandma_ is _fucking_ my **_boyfriend_**!"

What he further didn't expect was the grandmother to retort, "If you gave him better pussy then he wouldn't be lookin' to an old crone for action!"

If this wasn't the thing that got him thinking about accepting that resignation he didn't know what would.

"Okay!" He shouted, face going red and breathing in deeply. Out of the corner of his eyes one of the employees of _Bath & Bodyworks_ was recording the incident. "I need to ask you both to leave immediately or you'll have to be escorted out of the mall."

The granddaughter slammed the candle on the nearest display, "You have to agree thats fucked up- my boyfriend ate out my grandma! That’s just _gross_!" She turned to her grandmother, "And you let him you disgusting old hag! Who in their right mind thinks its alright to let their grandchild's boyfriend- who's more than fifty years younger than them- to go down on them!"

"Well you weren't servin' up any dinner plates for that lad- that's for sure."

_Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god_

"Leave immediately or be escorted out!" He hollered louder, enough to send shivers up his own spine. He wasn't a loud guy by nature.

Both women then looked very offended, completely taken aback by his tone. The grandmother puffed her chest, "Don't you yell at my granddaughter that way! Who do you think you are?"

"Yeah, and don't yell at my grandmama either, you asshole!"

Sometimes he wondered if this entire job was a fever dream and he was still deployed in the field. Shiro sighed and gave both women a stern look, "You're disturbing the other customers and causing a scene- not to mention dropping profanity and holding an inappropriate conversation very loudly. If you want to continue your conversation I suggest you leave the mall."

The granddaughter shook her head, "I'm leaving- but I am going to call and complain to your higher ups for treating us like children." She sneered and stormed out of the store.

The grandmother clicked her tongue, "Kids just aren't raised right anymore." She followed her granddaughter out.

Once they were out of the store Shiro let out a loud exhale while the employees at _Bath & Bodyworks_ giggled over the video taken. This was only the first day of summer and it was just gonna get worse from here.

* * *

“Shiro! _Oh god_ \- Shiro I saw that video!” It was around closing time, and Shiro looked up from one of the halls to see Lance. He was an employee and founder of the _Kiddie Center_ in the mall. It doubled as a daycare and the area where most of the scuffles Shiro dealt with was at. He was so lucky to have the sector of the mall with the most action.

Lance was giggling as he walked up, phone in hand. Shiro raised a brow, “What video?”

“The-” Lance cut himself off by laughing so hard, and held up a finger as he tried to calm down. He seemed to get enough air to speak for a moment, “It's the v-” he sputtered and choked out more laughter, giving up and just handing his phone over to Shiro.

He furrowed his brow at the screen, then pressed play (took two tries before he actually hit it with his thumb). The video started, a familiar scene in a certain _Bath & Bodyworks_ popping up and a woman exclaiming, “My _grandma_ is _fucking_ my **_boyfriend_**!” The line sent Lance into silent laughter, tears streaming down his face and heaving for air.

Almost right away Shiro tried to stop the video but it continued to repeat over and over again. He grumbled and shoved the phone back into Lance’s hands. “Yes, that happened. And it's not as funny as you think it is.” He tried to say sternly. Shiro should have known better, though, because for the time he’d known Lance he had learned the guy’s laughter was infectious. With the combination of the wheezing from Lance and the repeating, horrible quality, six second video, Shiro couldn’t help but chuckle a bit.

“Okay, okay. Did you actually need anything, Lance?” Shiro started heading to the food court. He still needed to contrinue checking the bathrooms for stragglers and the last one in his sector was next to a _Chick-fil-a_.

Lance followed after Shiro, “Y-yeah.” he cleared his throat, “Me, a couple of the people from the _Kiddie Care_ center, and Keith are headin’ out for drinks. We wanted to know if you would like to come along.” He waggled his eyebrows once he caught up and bumped Shiro’s sides with his hip, “Also I heard the chick bartender is in charge tonight at that one place! You could totally score some free drinks. I heard she completely digs the whole white hair, amputee, scar thing. Or- well, _you_ , mostly. She digs you.” No doubt Lance figured that out after asking her for her number and she told him she’d rather have Shiro.

Shiro shook his head, “Thanks, but I’m good. I just wanna get home and sleep. Especially after the grandmother and granddaughter experience. Just know if I don't come in tomorrow I decided to retire into a life filled less with grandmas sleeping with young adults. And less candles.” Candles had been ruined for him for a long time.

Lance huffed, “Oh come on, Shiro.” He got in front of the security officer and lightly pushed on his chest, “Keith’s right- you rarely get out anymore.” He exhaled through his nose, “It's almost been a year, man…” his voice got softer.

Shiro could feel himself clenching a fist that didn't exist. “Listen, I just can't take that stuff anymore. People crowding each other that closely and the lights… I just- I _can’t_ ,” he emphasized.

Lance’s eyes were as big as always- but somehow felt bigger than ever in those moments. Though instead of pouting and begging like he did with everything, he nodded. He might not have understood Shiro’s boundaries initially, but at least he was growing to respect them. “Alright, then. I’m still gonna see if I can get that girls number for you, though!” Lance walked past Shiro, smile back on his lips.

“Yeah, and how many times have you told her you were gonna do that before she caught on that you were lying?” He asked, turning his head and raising a brow, Lance waving him off with a laugh.

“Fifteen times and still going strong!”

* * *

Later into the night, once he had clocked out and said goodnight to everyone, Shiro drove back home. At his front door was a familiar sight: a black cat, lightly beating its tail against the pavement. He smiled slightly and scratched against her ear, “Hey, Porky.” The cat was a fairly fat one, spoiled by everyone in his apartment complex. She would get food from all over and eat it, constantly visit the neighbors, and let the kids play with and pet her. Though, at night- whenever Shiro got back from work- she was there, waiting to be let in.

He cracked open the door, and Porky sprinted in, disappearing into Shiro’s room. Probably burrowing in a drawer. Shiro tossed his bag on the couch to his left, then headed to his kitchen. It was small, but cosy. He didn’t need anymore than that.

Shiro heated up water for his _Sleepytime_ tea- which he doubted helped him fall asleep, but it was routine by this point so he couldn’t give it up. The coffee maker sputtered out hot water in a sickly sound. He needed a new one for the last two months but couldn't muster up the energy to go out.

Supermarkets were crowded on the days he got off, the weekends, and there were just too many bodies and the lights too bright. When he'd just gotten discharged he couldn't go anywhere that was too loud, but now it was just the bodies that bothered him. Well, that, and the bright, fluorescent lights. He only went late at night when one register was open and only young adults were there for late night ice cream or middle aged folks experiencing a midlife crisis. Even then, the late night drive left him unnerved.

He craned his head to the right and ducked down to look out the window above the sink. The stars were a lot more blanketed in the city, but the few peaking out were enough to fill him with a nostalgia. That nostalgia twisted when he recalled what happened to those who stuck in one spot too long.

The coffee maker beeped softly, and he took the steaming mug, dipping the tea packet in it.

He headed to his room and sat his tea on the dresser. Shiro didn't turn on the light so Porky wasn’t bothered, which left him stripping to his boxers in the dark. In the dark he could still feel the loss of limb, and gently grasped the nub. He stared blankly at the adjusting darkness. A year and he was still getting used to it.

The prosthetic he was given was lying deep in his closet where he hoped it stayed forever. It was a false hope, and awkward to have on in the first place. It wasn’t like he could do much with it anyways. It just hung there and was as fake as his dreams of still having all his limbs. On top of that it only got in the way, bulky and useless. Lance showed him a video of a woman beating a man with her prosthetic leg when he tried stealing her purse, but he doubt he- as a security guard- could do that.

Though, whenever Lance tried to make light of his missing arm, Keith would yell at him. Even though Shiro was rarely offended by the normalization- or the attempt to normalize his disability- Keith still felt the need to shield him from any comments. It was always Keith who tried to protect Shiro, even though Shiro was more than capable of taking care of himself.

Shiro shook his head and got his legs under the covers before grabbing his laptop. Porky popped her head up from his shirt drawer, and rested her head on the edge.

As his computer booted up he smiled at the cat. “If you get fleas in there you’re not allowed on anything clean for a week,” he teased.

Porky barely glanced at him before lazily tucking her head back inside the shirts, her spine barely in view.

Shiro typed in his password and the second the Google Chrome icon popped up he opened it to his email. He changed his email recently after getting too much mail about the military and disability facilities willing to help him. The only emails he got now were for coupons, the occasional renewing membership for Netflix, and work schedules.

There were currently two new emails, one for his new schedule and another from kg99387701@gmail.com.

He first opened the schedule. He was working Sunday through Wednesday as full days. Thursday he was off and Friday to Saturday were half days.

Shiro tapped his computer, chewing on the inside of his cheek. This was Allura’s doing. Shiro tapped on Compose New Mail.

* * *

 

To: 1alluranalteanalluranaltean1@gmail.com

Cc/Bcc:

Subject: Quit it.

  
  
I know you're messing with my schedule. If it does not update so I work all day everyday I will talk to your dad again.

* * *

 He sent it off and opened up the next mail. It was a link to a video about group therapy for PTSD and included a woman who smiled uncomfortably. He closed the window and deleted the mail. It was pretty useless to get away from disability ads by making a new account when Keith filled that role just fine.

When he was back at the front page for his mail he had gotten another one from neilzkn58120@gmail.com with the header, “ _My offer still stands._ ” Shiro frowned, cracking his knuckles and tapping on computer again. It was about his resignation- that's the only reason why Mister Zarkon bothered to even speak to him.

Even though Shiro knew the contents he still opened the mail.

* * *

To: shishiro-1105@gmail.com

Cc/Bcc:

Subject: My offer still stands.

 

Takashi,

Its been a week and you haven’t replied so I’ll take that as you're not interested. Still, I urge you to really think about this. The money I’m offering you could last you for years. In that time your disability checks could add up and you’d be set for life. I mean no offense by this- but it's not something to simply disregard on pride.

You are an amazing security officer and have managed to remain dedicated to Altean Centers before and after you joined the military, but this work can be taking a toll on you and it would be best to rest and accept retirement as soon as possible. By this point you’re adding undue stress to yourself when you should be spending your time resting. It would be beneficial to yourself and your coworkers to step down.

I beg of you to think about what I’m giving you,

Neil Zarkon.

* * *

Shiro rubbed his face. He had hopes he got the message across to Mister Zarkon by that point. Still the man was urging him to give up position and waste the rest of his days watching Netflix and feeding a fat cat. It was something he was consistent on rejecting, but everyday that passed while working at the mall he considered the offer more and more.

All the shouting kids, occasional loud display knocking down, people accidently bumping into him when he least expected. He loved his job and was happy for the distraction, but somedays it felt like there were too many feet squeaking against the tiles. And it was summer soon. It would be more crowded than ever.

Shiro sighed and shook head, closing out gmail but not deleting it. He didn’t want to think about it now.

With nothing else he debated on two things: masturbation or watching Netflix. He peaked his head over to Porky and decided the former was off the list. It looked like he was gonna binge _Elementary_.

* * *

“How many times have I told you to text me instead of using my email?” Allura, head of the North security division and daughter of the man who owned the mall, asked Shiro as he approached her desk in the security camera room.

The man who used to work on the cameras up and quit. Ever since Allura has been having to watch them because security's understaffed.

Shiro shrugged, “I don't know, how many times have I told you to stop messing with my schedule?”

He set the bag from _Chick-Fil-A_ down and took out his fries while Allura took her meal. It was his lunch and him and Alura always ate together. Every other day, Shiro paid.

She puffed her chest at his response, ignoring her food for a moment. If Allura wanted to, she could beat Shiro into the next dimension and he wouldn't even realize it because he’d develop amnesia. However, the line for those who wanted to spend the summer guarding a mall from bored teenagers and raging grandmas was limited so she resisted any physical violence.

“Everyone knows you're overworking yourself. When was the last time you actually had a day off?” She pulled out her wrap and grabbed a water from the mini fridge under the table. “No, back track. When was the last time you worked less than forty hours in a week? I’m pretty sure we’re legally obligated to force you into a vacation.”

“Well, when that day comes let me know,” he retorted and watched the cameras. “For the meantime I want my hours back.”

“I can’t, Shiro.” She spread the avocado sauce on her wrap and Shiro crinkled his nose. That sauce was gross and so was the smell. “My father did that himself. He’s actually insisting for once that you do get a break.” She took a bite and Shiro was pretty sure she swallowed it whole, “He almost gave you the entire week off- which I actually stopped him from doing. But expect a decline in your hours.”

He shook head, silently cursing Coran, and ate a waffle fry. _This is stupid_.

“This is stupid.”

“Last thing I need is one of my officers- no, my best officer- to collapse and leave me with Keith. Now I respect his ability to do his job but you must admit that he's a bit… _overzealous_.”

Shiro shrugged, “But he’s got potential. And it's only been two weeks. Give and take within two months he’d mellow out more”

“Four. I’ve gotten four incident reports since he started.”

“And they were justifiable in their own ways.” Shiro jiggled his leg. “Look, I don't want to talk about Keith right now.”

Allura raised a brow after drinking some water. “Did he upset you?”

Shiro shook his head, “No… well, not really. He hasn’t done anything wrong, him and Lance just really keep trying to push me to go out, but I keep telling them no.”

“Oh, are they still bar hopping?”

“No, they settled on this one we went to around December of last year where that bartender with the blue belly button ring kept flirting with me?”

Allura nodded, “I recall Lance mentioning she really liked you?”

“Yep.” Shiro sighed, “He tried to get me to come along to get them free drinks since she was in charge of the bar.”

“Not surprised.” She hummed, “They spend so much of their money on alcohol I’m shocked they haven’t gotten in trouble yet. Speaking of Lance he showed me a video of the incident yesterday,” she smirked.

Shiro narrowed his eyes. “What inciden- wait… _oh_ ,” he groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Are you talking about the grandmother?”

“Yes, I am. I’m pretty everyone in the mall has seen it by now.”

“That's probably the worst thing I have ever dealt with in this mall and I’ve encountered so much throw up from all age ranges. Twice I stepped in it.” He squirted some ketchup on one of the waffle fries and put another on top of it before eating them. “I swear if I had to choose between dealing with that again and having to clean someone’s lunch off my shoe I’d choose-”

Allura leaned over Shiro, interrupting him as something caught her eye on the camera behind him. “Is that him?” She whispered to herself.

Shiro, before turning, noticed his fries were almost crushed by Allura’s arm resting on the table, so he quickly grabbed them from danger.

“Who?” he asked and turned to the camera.

“This kid!” Allura cried, pointing at someone who looked in their teens sitting on a bench with a laptop and a bag. “I’ve watched them sit in the same spot all yesterday. They didn’t come in at the same time today so I thought they were gone, but they did come today.” She furrowed her brow, “What are you doing?” she asked, as if the kid would actually answer.

Shiro sat his fries on his lap and ate a couple more. “He’s loitering and that's reason enough to kick him out of the mall. After these few fries I’ll deal with it.”

She hummed and sat down, going back to her wrap and smeared some more avocado sauce on it. “Just don’t upset them. When kids complain they do it the loudest and the last thing I need is a teenager yelling about how security is harassing them.”

* * *

The kid seemed not to care about all the people around him, entirely engrossed in whatever he was doing on the computer. There was someone in the _Apple_ store across the way who was warily watching, but when Shiro walked up they nodded to him and focused on their job inside.

He walked up to the kid. “Excuse me,” Shiro asked, “May I ask what you're doing?”

The kid barely bat an eye at him, “I’m taking a break from walking around so much.” After one more keystroke he looked up, “Can I help you?”

He had to have the roundest glasses Shiro had ever seen and the baggiest clothes to exist. It made him look smaller than he actually was. “You’re currently loitering, and the mall is meant for paying customers.”

The kid held up a large cup from the _Great American Cookies_ nearby that was absent of a top and straw (Who buys a drink and doesn't keep the top or straw?), “I _am_ a paying customer,” he stated.

The smugness wasn't lost on Shiro. He straightened his back and frowned. “You’ve been sitting in the same spot since yesterday. If you’re gonna do the same thing and if you’re not planning on continuously buying something from here every hour I’m going to have to call your parents to pick you up.”

The kid smirked, “Me? Here? Yesterday? I definitely wasn’t-” he suddenly leaned over his computer defensively, eyes wide with disbelief, “Wait- call my parents? I’ll have you know I’m nineteen you jerk!”

Shiro narrowed his eyes. It was hard to believe this kid was anything but 16, and he clearly did know he was here the previous day. The only thing Shiro could do for now was let him be. “Today you’re off the hook, but if I catch you here again tomorrow I’ll have you kicked out.”

The kid just scoffed and huffed, “Whatever,” before going back to his computer.

As he walked away Shiro grasped his radio, “Radio'ing cameras. Allura? I’m gonna need all security tapes on _Apple_ for the days that kid's been here.”

“10-4”

* * *

Before his break ended Shiro was back in the camera room with Allura, who was using a laptop to try and pull up the tapes from yesterday. "What do you need them for?"

Shiro shrugged, "If the kid wants to fight or say that he wasn't here again then I'll be able to say I actually saw him. Not to mention I can just use them again him if he really wants to start trouble."

Allura smiled, "This kid really got under your skin, huh?"

"If there's one thing I can't take it's being smug."

She started to laugh lightly, akin to the sound of bells. "Is that why you've always tried to get Lance locked up in our mini jail?"

Shiro exhaled through his nose, amused, "I just need another ruined car incident and the real coppers can have him for a day or two."

Allura shook her head a bit with a grin, and pulled up the tapes from _Apple_ , starting early in the morning before they even opened. It was right at opening that the cameras seemed to buzz out, then cut to complete black. She frowned, "Yesterday when I watched them they were perfectly fine." She said, and started fast forward the tape. It stayed black. "This doesn't make any sense..."

Shiro started to tap his fingers against the back of Allura's chair. He told himself not to overthink the situation, he wasn't in some war anymore which mean he shouldn't start accusing a kid of being able to hack into their security and erase video. Something in his gut told him that the kid was responsible, but he knew it had to be his anxiety talking.

He sighed and spoke against his better judgement, "Maybe something messed with the cameras afterwards, like a bug." The cameras sparked to life just after closing. "Probably an interference from the _Apple_ store? Maybe they were testing some gadget and it messed with their camera."

Allura huffed, "I guess. It's just weird." She shut the laptop and set it aside, looking up at Shiro. "Sorry you didn't get to see it, but I know what I saw. If anything happens just let me know and _I'll_ talk to him."

"Alright. Thanks anyways, Allura." He nodded. Shiro looked down at his watch and had roughly five more minutes of his break, but with nothing else to do he decided to end it early, "I'll go ahead and go back to patrolling."

She gave a wordless reply and Shiro exited the camera room, shutting the door behind him. He kept reiterating to himself that it was nothing, and he was overthinking the situation too much. The kid could barely lift their laptop, no way they knew how to hack a security system of _any_ kind.

Tapping of feet caught Shiro's attention, and he looked up down the hall to see Keith arrive. It was midday, he looked way hung over and was scruffy, _and_ he was late, which left Shiro amused and curious. He followed the younger man into the locker rooms.

“Hey,” Shiro started when he walked in behind Keith, a shit eating grin on his face as he slightly raised his voice with every word, “How was light night?”

Keith groaned, “Shiro, please, inside voices.”

“Allura is gonna get pissed, you know that right? A full hour late.” Shiro clicked his tongue and leaned against the lockers, arms crossed.

“Wasn’t even my fault!” Complained Keith, “Lance _tricked_ me-” ( **Shiro translation note: Lance challenged me** ), “To a round of shots and it kept going and going and going until we were- like- four in.”

Shiro raised a brow, smirking, “What was it this time? Whiskey? Tequila?”

“It was one of the named rounds- uh… Horsemen. The Four Horsemen or something…” Keith waved his hand in the air, obviously hoping the conversation would end soon so he could go back to silence.

“Oh god, took that the night before a new semester of college started and the entire day was hell.” Shiro chuckled.

“F _uuuu_ ck me.” Keith gurgled, lazily putting his belt on. “Did Allura notice I wasn’t here?”

“No. She will notice the clock in, though.”

“Good, as long as she doesn’t see me today with my big migrane, I don’t care.”

Shiro leaned off the locker once Keith was done with his gear, walking to the door and holding it open for the younger man. “I don’t think in this state you’re in position to ride the segway,” he joked.

Almost right away Keith looked offended and more awake than ever before, “No, I can take Charlie.”

“I still can’t believe you named it at all,” he shook his head. “You’ve had the job of security guard for two weeks and you already named it.”

Keith raised a brow and beelined for the segway once it was in view. “Well, you’ve been here for a year and you can’t even ride the thing.” He climbed up on the segway and ghosted a pet over it. Shiro was pretty sure that was borderline creepy. Maybe that’s why he hasn’t had a date in years.

Shiro walked alongside the segway once it started up. “What portion of the sector do you want?”

“Food court today.”

He raised a brow, “You sure you can deal with Lance’s over enthusiasm? And, you know, all the kids?”

“You forget that we both drank four rounds, he’s as bad if not worse than me. And with all those kids? Screaming?”

“I see your point,” Shiro smiled. “By the way, watch out around the _Apple_ store today. There’s this kid there and he refuses to move. There’s nothing we can do since he bought something, but if he's doing anything on the laptop that seems a little fishy then kick him out.”

“I don’t get it- we can still kick him out. He’s loitering even if he bought something.”

“Yeah, but I don’t want to turn into the West side of the mall that just kicks out people for every little thing. If he’s not causing any harm then it's not a big deal.”

Keith slowed the segway, “But you still want him out?”

Shiro huffed, “Yes, I do, because I feel like he's doing something but I can’t blame others based off a gut feeling. Gut feelings aren’t always right, and if I act and I’m wrong?” He pushed open a door for Keith and his segway, “That kid’s gonna tell Allura and somehow it’ll end up in Mister Zarkon’s hands- which will give him solid evidence of my “ _disability_ ” because I have “ _reckless behavior_ ”.”

Keith grunted, “He can’t use your disability against you like that! That’s _**bullshit**_!” Both Keith and Shiro had entered the mall, and a couple customers looked at them with confused or disapproving looks.

Shiro quickly apologized, “Sorry, sorry. He’s new.” He then looked at Keith with a frown.

“Look,” Keith’s voice lowered, “if you take a PTSD class or get a therapist or something he can't use his word over yours-”

“Keith,” Shiro’s voice raised to cut him off, then immediately lowered, “I’m happy you care about me- I’m happy you're worried about me. But I have told you this before and I’ll say it again: how I deal with my time in war is how I deal with it. On top of that it's more complicated than he-said-she-said scenarios. Now head to your sector.”

Keith watched him go, shoulders slumped and gripping onto the handles. Before he had a chance to go after Shiro he felt a tug at his pants and looked down at a young girl. “I lost my parents.”

He sighed, “Jump onto the segway and let's find them”

* * *

For the last hour Keith had been trying to segway past the kid outside _Apple_ secretly by hiding behind a cardboard cutout of a _Victoria's Secret_ 's model, then jumping to a Sunglasses display, and finally to a mannequin with zipper pants and a furry tail in front of _Hot Topic_. Within the first fifteen minutes of his stakeout the chain necklace around the mannequin’s neck had him distracted but he ignored it to focus on his mission.

The entirety of the hour all the kid did was drink soda, burp twice, almost drop a usb drive in said soda (who drinks without a lid or straw anyways?), and typed away on that computer of his. He hadn’t noticed Keith yet- entirely engrossed in whatever they were doing. If only he could get behind him…

“What are you lookin’ at Keith?”

“Holy fuck!” Keith cursed, nearly toppling over his segway and bumping the mannequin over. He looked up at the employees inside then over at the kid. Luckily he was too invested in his computer to notice Keith.

Keith turned and scowled at Lance, who was sipping on an orange smoothie with sunglasses on. Keith bumped into Lance’s legs with the segway and then dismounted it to pick up the mannequin as Lance complained.

“Wow, someone's a bit cranky today.” Lance rubbed his ankle, bouncing on one foot, “Did the sixteen shots get you down?” He smirked.

“No,” Keith grunted, trying his best to put the mannequin up until an employee came out and fixed it for him. He apologized to them.

“Get behind there” He pushed Lance towards the sunglasses display as he mounted Charlie and stopped beside Lance.

“Aren’t you hungover?” Keith asked.

Lance snorted, “I am peachy A+ perfect- no wait give me those back!” Keith had snatched the sunglasses off Lance’s face and the man, indeed, looked like shit. He managed to snatch them back and put them on, “Can’t just grab people’s cool accessories you jerk. Wait- why are we hiding? Oooh, are you hiding from Allura again? What’d you run into this time? A Nissan car again?”

“Okay for starters: that was a one time thing and it was that girl's fault for handing out free samples. Two: no, I’m not hiding from Allura, I’m watching that kid.” When Lance leaned too far over the display Keith pushed his chest back. “Don’t make it obvious, you idiot!”

Lance slurped his smoothie, “What did he do?”

“Something. I mean, he’s been sitting at that bench all day and is drinking soda that is undoubtedly flat by this point. But he's been typing non stop and is in front of the _Apple_ store of all things.”

“Why don’t you just tell them to get out then?”

“Because it’ll get Shiro in trouble if he’s wrong. What if the dude is just writing?”

Lance shrugged, “Well then sucks for you.

“My lunch is done in like ten minutes, so I’m gonna check out Claire’s”

“Wait, hold on.” Keith grabbed onto Lance’s arm, “I need your help.”

“Did I hear you right?”

“I need to see what he’s doing on that computer, so just go over there and sit behind him or whatever and look at his screen.”

“Dude, but Claire’s is half off today and my sister’s birthday is in, like, two days,” Lance whined. “I don’t have time to help you do your pretend police officer job.”

Keith frowned and inhaled through his nose deeply, “If you do this for me, I’ll go into Claire’s _for_ you and pick something out.”

Lance scoffed, shaking his orange smoothie at Keith, “You can’t just pick something out- this is for my little sister! She needs to have the right gift and there's a specific bracelet and headband she saw in there that only _I_ know what it looks like. I would do it tomorrow but they’re restocking and throwing out the old stuff and the old cashier who totally had the hots for me was caught stealing so no one there is willing to wait after hours for me.”

“The only reason she had the hots for you was because you’d give her five bucks and tell her to buy something nice every time you saw her. Shiro had to buy you lunch two days in a row. That's besides the point, though. If you just do this for me and describe what it looks like, where they're at, and the price, I’ll buy it myself.”

Lance narrowed his eyes and took a long, loud slurp out of his smoothie for ten seconds straight before popping his lips and adding, “Also buy me a strawberry smoothie tomorrow.”

“Deal.”

“Okay!”

After taking one more sip Lance shoved the smoothie into Keith's hands and then headed over to the bench behind the kid. He sat down to the right of the kid so he could take a peek over his shoulder. Lance drummed his fingers a bit before casually tilting his head back to sneak a glance at the computer. The screen was incredibly dark- probably meant to hide what he was doing from people like Lance- but by narrowing eyes he see some of the screen. The kid was coding something. Or at least looking at code.

Before Lance had a chance to figure out what was being done the laptop shut loudly and he heard the kid shout, “ _What are you doing_!”

Lance looked up to see the kid staring at him angrily. Over the kid's shoulder he could see Keith pulling out his hair in frustration, and he doubted the security officer was still gonna go to Claire’s for him. He looked back up at the kid, “Uh? Was just seeing if you had some… hmm, sick cool jams?” he smiled, trying to look laid back and cool, but being Lance he was sort of failing at both. “I’m super into music. Bro.”

“I don't even have headphones in.” The kid pointed out, then started looking around.

Before Keith had a chance to retreat he kid had already spotted him and shouted, “You! Security! Did you get him to _spy_ on me?” The guy knew how to draw a crowd and a couple of passersby watched the scene unfold.

To avoid making a bigger crowd Keith turned his segway sharply and rolled up to the kid, “Sir, please calm down. What’s the issue?”

The kid crossed his arms and looked up at Keith like he was an idiot. “I’m not stupid I know you’ve been watching me. I saw you knock down the mannequin earlier and you've been here for nearly an hour.”

 _At least he’s lowered his voice_ , Keith thought.

“Did that white haired security guard get you to watch me? I'm just _minding_ my business and you're _harassing_ me?”

_Nevermind, nevermind, abort abort he’s raising his tone again._

“Sir if you just calm down I can try to help you figure out what the problem is. I just need you to lower your tone, please.”

“No, you just want me to lower my tone so no one hears about how you are _bothering_ me: a _kid_ who is doing _absolutely_ _nothing_ wrong and just checking their email.”

Lance raised his head, “You weren’t checking your email, you were looking at code!”

“Yeah, it’s meant to be deciphered. My professor in my programming class sends it out as brain teasers.” The kid grabbed their laptop, turned up the brightness, and minimized the code, shoving the mail in Lance’s face, “See?”

It was there, bright as day. From the same university that Lance had gone to there was an email from a professor who forwarded the code to at least four other people. He shrunk in his bench and Keith looked like he was about to drive him and Charlie off a cliff.

“Where is your head of security? I want to talk to them immediately.”

Lance saw it as a blessing when he noticed a familiar officer walking up. Keith, however, knew it was actually a curse.

“What’s going on here?” Shiro asked as he approached, and the second he noticed the kid and registered that both Lance and Keith were there he raised his shoulders and gave them a look before the kid turned around.

And when the kid turned around? Even Shiro was a bit unsettled. “I told you earlier I wasn't doing anything and you send to people over to watch me? Is this how you run your security- _stalking_ people who are on their email?”

“I assure you I sent no one over here to spy on you. What the other officers do is on them-” When he said that Keith knew he was in deep shit- “but I would like to formally apologize for their actions.”

“Sure, whatever, old man. Where’s the actual person that runs your security? I wanna complain about this."

* * *

It was an hour and a half later until the kid left- less smug than other customers by that point. Both Keith and Shiro were sitting in Allura’s office and Lance was back at the _Kiddie Center_ to finish up his shift. Keith, somehow, still had Lance’s smoothie in his hands.

It was quiet for a good minute; Allura had her eyes closed and her hands joined. The only sound was the clock in the corner and Shiro bouncing his leg.

“Hey, this is all on me-”

Allura cut Keith off by holding up her hand, “I really don't want to hear it from you right now Keith. First, you're late- _by an hour_ \- and then you leave a very angry child at my office.”

“I mean the kid was actually about 19…” Shiro mumbled.

She pointed a finger at Shiro, “I’m not angry at you, but if you talk again while I'm talking I will be.”

He clamped his mouth shut.

She looked back up at Keith. “You're a good security officer. You may be a bit awkward with the kids who get lost but you’re good at catching those who shoplift and try to steal bags.

“ _But_. But you have an issue with listening. You have an issue with accusing people wrongly. This is the fifth time since you started working here that I've had a complaint about you. I know you're trying and I know you're passionate about this job, however if you keep this up I will have to fire you.

“And you Shiro? I almost never get anything about you! So, since you're involved with this one I will give your side of the story the benefit of the doubt. On top of that I did give instructions to at least monitor the kid, although you hadn’t exactly left it in the right hands.”

Keith twiddled with the cup as he watched Allura, and Shiro jiggled his leg faster.

“Thank you Allura.” Shiro nodded, “I’ll make sure this doesn't happen again and I’ll keep a closer eye on Keith.”

“I appreciate the sentiment but Keith should be able to look after himself.” She gave the younger man a pointed look, then nodded, “You can both go.”

Keith stood, “What’s the kid gonna do?”

“Nothing. Doesn’t even want me to tell anyone else. He said he wants it contained to us three. And Lance,” She pointed out to the side. “All they want is for you to stop bothering him. He has a good reason to sticking around this mall, anyways.”

“And what would that be?” Keith asked

“None of your business. Now go, both of you.” She waved them off.

Keith trailed behind Shiro, and the second the door closed he reached for Shiro’s shoulder, “Look- hey- I’m sorry I-”

“I understand being late. You’re in your twenties and it's a time to get drunk and come to work with the worst headaches. But I asked you, specifically, just to keep an eye out. This is the exact reason why you became a security officer- to learn how to listen. I just hope you start to control your actions a bit more-”

“I _will_. I just- it's only been two weeks.”

Shiro rubbed his forehead, “Yeah, two weeks and five incident reports. You do realize I can't do anything if you get fired? It took enough convincing to get you even get _hired_.” He shook arm like he was trying to get the stress out of it. “Just please be more careful. This time it affected more than you; we're both lucky that Allura has been a friend of mine for a long time. If it was anyone else we’d be in deep shit.”

Sometimes even Keith knew when to stay quiet. He nodded and let go of Shiro’s shoulder.

* * *

Around closing time Shiro made his rounds and checked all the gates for the stores and looked into the bathrooms. It took his usual 30 minutes to make sure the East side was clear of people. The entire time Keith nor Lance had bothered him; they both left and possibly had gone out. He was too frustrated with either of them to even talk to them.

He had a lot of faith in Keith and knew the guy could potentially become a police officer, but if he couldn’t hold his temper as mall security then it was impossible to maintain a job as a real officer.

In the locker room he saw he was right about Keith leaving when he noticed his locker was open. Shiro shut it on the way to his own locker and started to remove his gear.

He heard the door to the locker room open and someone say, “Shiro!” He looked up. It was a man a bit older than himself and Shiro instantly recognized him. It was Andrew, the nightly guard for the entire East wing. He once told Shiro he took the job to help pay for fertilizer for his Azaleas and Poppies.

He nodded and smiled politely, unpinning his badge, “Hello Andrew.”

“Hold on, Shiro,” the man walked up and Shiro realized he wasn't in uniform, “I was wondering if you could do me a favor. This-This morning…” Andrew shook his head, “my grandfather died.”

“Really? My god, I’m so sorry.” Shiro immediately stopped what he was doing and faced him. “What happened?”

“Oh, his old ticker finally went out. He’s been with me my entire life- I don't know what’ll do without him.”

Shiro gently grabbed the man's hands with his one and squeezed. “That's _horrible_ ,” he empathized.

Andrew nodded. “Yes, yes. Well, I’ve been busy grieving all day and sorting through his old nuts and bolts that I forgot to tell Allura I can’t possibly spend the night here with this on my mind.”

“Oh- of course. If you’d like I’ll take your shift?”

“Really?” Andrew said hopefully. “Thank you, really thank you. You’re a real saint Shiro.”

“No problem at all, please- go home and take your time.”

Andrew smiled with tears in his eyes and headed for the door after patting Shiro’s hand. “Bless you. I can finally put that old clock to rest.”

Shiro watched the man depart and shook head sadly. He wondered how long Andrew would be gone- and Allura had already left. Looked like he’d have to tell her in the morning.

It took a solid minute of readjusting his gear that he was able to go over the conversation once more in his head before pausing and looking up at the door in confusion. “Was he talking about an actual clock?”


	2. Chapter 2

It was closing time and Keith had finally gotten all his stuff together and gave a passing goodbye to other security officers leaving for the day. He thought about helping Shiro check for any customers, but realized that it probably would be useless. If anything he’d bother him. Besides, he did enough damage for one day; the only thing left was to reflect on what he’d done.

On his way out he passed by the Kiddie Care, only to notice it was closed off, which meant that Lance had gone home. It struck Keith as was weird because Lance was usually the last store owner one out. He looked around to see at least two other shops were open with one girl struggling to put away a 50% off sign that was graffitied by sharpie: “ _I tripped on corndog once._ ” He remembered escorting that kid out.

For a moment he had brushed it off as nothing and decided to leave, but it was about four steps in that he remembered what Lance had told him. And what Keith had promised. His little sister's gifts.

_Oh god you are kinda a dick- you promised you would pick it up and instead forgot about it._

Another part of Keith’s head nagged him, claiming, _Well he didn’t even get the job done right. That’s on him._

Keith felt himself reassured and started heading to one of the exits. About five feet from the door he groaned loudly turned 180 degrees to head back to the security office in the East wing of the mall.

_No, this is on you._

The thought of being the direct reason some little girl didn’t get the gift she wanted for her birthday was a depressing one. And it was likely that he’d get cursed by Lance if he still held onto that voodoo phase he told Keith about.

In the locker room most guards had departed by then, but the ones left raised a brow at him. “Just forgot something” He told them before digging around in his locker. Keith peeked over his shoulder to see the others absorbed in their own conversation, so he pulled out his keys and dropped them into his bag. He shut the locker quickly only to hear it slam hard enough to bounce back and be left ajar. He didn't bother to reclose it, a bit scared of being caught with his key even though no one in the room knew about it.

What he was doing was going to get him in trouble, but he still made a promise, and like Shiro said, he needed to listen. Granted, this version of listening would completely get him fired if he was caught but if he knew anything about the West wing of the mall it was that they didn’t watch the grey zone at night.

The grey zone of the mall was where the West and East wing met. If you entered from the main entrance you’d be in the grey area, with Claire’s just four stores to the left. However, if you kept going straight you’d end up at JCPenny’s, which left the store in the middle of the grey zone. That left the entirety of JCPenny's a warground of staredowns between East and West guards, and occasionally and fight on who got to take in a shoplifter found in the area.

But at night? The West wing dumped the job on the East wing. However with Allura gone for the night that meant Lara was gonna watch the cameras- but Lara _sucked_ at her job. Her eyesight was going out ever since before Keith joined, something about grease from a McDonald's store that used to be at the food court?

Keith headed to the grey zone, keeping a close eye out for anyone who was getting off work. There was a group of girls from one of the footwear stores but besides that it was void of people. As they headed for the main exit Keith skipped over to hide behind a plant. From there he could see Claire’s just across the way, but he needed to wait for everyone to leave for the day. That was the worst thing about the grey zone: everyone used it to leave at the end of the day.

When a group started approaching from behind him Keith panicked at the thought of being seen and jumped in between two benches that had its sides covered with ugly statues. As he landed his foot hit something and he heard someone curse.

Keith took his leg back and his eyes widened, “Lance?” He whispered angrily, “What the hell are you doing here?”

“I don't know” he grunted, “I could ask you the same thing. You kicked me by the way!” Lance jabbed Keith’s side with his foot and wiggled back so they both had room.

Keith glared, “Oh, real mature. You need to stop hanging around so many kids, you act like one too!” he whispered and gave Lance a softer hit with his knee, “What’re doing? If you're looking for gum behind the benches I’m not driving you to the doctor for any sickness you develop.”

Lance huffed and peaked over the benches for a moment before slinking back down, “No, I’m trying to get into Claire’s. I still need those things for my sister and I know she’d die without them- so I’m breaking in.”

“You can’t just confess to a _security guard_ that you’re breaking into what they’re suppose to be _guarding_.”

“Well you’re off right now so it doesn't actually count.”

“Yes it does. I’m still a guard you doofus.”

“Okay then, tough guy: why’re you hiding between two benches? Are _you_ planning on taking the gum?” Lance leaned in with an irritated expression.

Keith just shoved him back and peaked above at around the gray zone. The coast was clear, “I’m going to Claire’s too. I have spare keys Shiro gave to me for emergencies.”

Lance raised his head, taken off guard, “Wait, really?”

Keith jumped from behind the benches and headed straight to the gate. He really hoped that the West wing hadn’t hired any new kids who were passionate about keeping burglars out. Or keeping out people like Lance and Keith. He disregard any worry and fiddled with his bag to grab the keys.

Lance followed his lead and Keith mummered him to keep an eye out while he unlocked the gate. Lance turned to watch out, “I didn’t think you’d get my little sister’s gift period. But why not buy it earlier rather than break in at night?”

“I- uhm… I forgot.” Keith shrugged.

“Also how would you know what my little sister wanted if you hadn’t asked me?”

As the gate opened Keith held it up just enough for both of them to crouch through before gently laying the gate back on the ground, “This is all on impulse, okay?” he turned to look at the darkened store. With the shutters closed it left Claire’s pitch black with only a small crack of light from under the gate. “Now go get it so we can go. The last thing I need is the West wing to catch us- or worse, _Shiro_.”

Lance took out his phone and turned on the flashlight, “Alright, alright. Just give me a sec.”

Keith watched Lance absentmindedly, tapping his foot impatiently. As the situation sunk in Keith realized exactly how fired he’d up being if he was caught in Claire’s with Lance at eleven at night. He wasn’t sure if Shiro would talk to him for weeks afterwards. Shiro would be _furious_. His foot tapped a bit faster.

“Dude,” Lance scoffed, dropping his hand from one of the displays, “It's not here?”

“What do you mean it's not here?”

“What do you think it means? It’s _not_ **_here_ **!” Lance said quietly before giving the store one last look over, “It has to be in the back or something. They must have gotten ready to throw out the last couple of items. Can you help me search back there?” He headed for the door behind the register.

Keith followed, “How do you even know any of this? You work at a daycare and play in ball pits all day.”

Lance shrugged and stepped over a box in the back, “I’ve always worked in retail. Not to mention my parents used to own a cooking supply shop here in the mall and I worked in it. I’ve also worked in almost every place in the mall.” He stopped at a box on the floor with a bunch of accessories thrown in. He kneeled, holding the flashlight in one hand and digging with the other.

Keith sat across from him to help, “How long have you’ve been in this mall?” he raised a brow.

“Since it opened. So, since elementary school? That's about ten or fifteen years.”

“How the fuck do I not know this by now?”

“I’ve told you before! You just weren't listening!”

“If I wasn't listening it was because you were being annoying.”

Softly, there was metal jangling and something scraping. Keith raised his head as Lance made another remark, but Keith shushed the other man to hear better.

“Are you seriously shushing me-”

“Seriously, shut up Lance!” Keith snapped quietly, then listened closer. There was a soft click.

Almost simultaneously there was a click in Keith’s head and his eyes widened, “Oh no oh no _oh no_ ” he got up and ran to the gate. He looked through of the slits of the shutters so see that a guard from the West wing was walking away.

“Keith, what's the matter?”

“This can't be happening, you’ve _got_ to be kidding me.” Keith grasped onto the gate and tried to pull it up, but it wouldn't budge. “Its locked”

* * *

Shiro had taken night shifts more often after being discharged. It was hard to sleep after being so use to noise cluttering his mind. Because of the silence he couldn’t help but fill his head up with anxiety, depression, and memories. Walking was a good distraction- any exercise for that matter was- and he’d take it over sleeping any day.

The halls were big and empty. Sometimes his head played tricks on him with shadows in the corner of his eyes. He knew better, though, and kept his composure. He had about seven hours left.

Sometimes he counted the tiles to pass time, or would thump his foot to something. While other guards could listen to music or get on their phones since the mall didn't require their full attention (most of the people who broke into a mall at night were badly choreographed teenagers on a dare, anyways) Shiro couldn't bring himself to do it. It made him feel unalert and unsafe even though the biggest threat to him was an uneven tile.

Couldn’t go out, having both of his ears plugged left him unnerved, nights had him on edge, he could barely use his phone without glancing up every five minutes; there wasn’t a lot his anxiety let him do. Or morely, his PTSD.

“Shiro?” The sharp voice caused him to jump. He’d been standing in the same spot for thirty minutes.

“Uh,” he grabbed his radio, “Yeah?”

“The camera for sector NE-12, NE-13, and NE-14 are down.”

The moment she finished Shiro turned around. “10-4, heading over now.”

Lara may not have the best eyesight but at least she could tell when the camera’s fuzzed.

“Switch to station 3.” She told him.

Shiro changed the frequency to the conversation line,“What's the issue, Lara?”

“All the cameras went out at the same time. Is it interference?”

Well that crossed off rats chewing on the cables.

He took a short cut that separates the north hall from the north eastern, “If it was the entire mall would be out. There could be a leak in plumbing or something, but I’ll see when I get there.”

When he exited the small hallway he ended up at NE-20, Craft and Barrow. He remembered when he first started the job how a kid climbed ontop of one of the highest shelves in the store and wouldn't get down. It took Shiro climbing up on the shelf after him and physically removing the kid to get him down.

As he passed each store he tapped his fingers against his thighs, silently counting them down until he turned the hall to see the three stores: Hot Topic, Apple, and American Eagle. It was easy to spot someone sitting on a bench in front of Apple, typing away at a computer.

The kid. It had to be that goddamn kid- he recognized the computer and the posture.

The moment he turned the corner, though, and his flash light reflected off a wall and the kid looked up.

“Hey! You!” he shouted

The kid grabbed their bag and laptop and sprinted, almost tripping over their own feet in the process. Shiro followed, only to quickly realize the kid was a lot faster than him. Maybe he’d start losing some muscle to be faster.

The kid turned right a little too wide, though, and Shiro started getting close enough that if he sprinted just a bit faster he could reach them. He was about half a foot away and could almost grab their hoodie when the kid cut between two shop booths- one for makeup and the other soccer equipment.

Shiro groaned, “Get back here, goddamnit!” When he tried to cut back behind the kid they just jumped to the other side of the benches, plants, and booths in the large halls. And that’s when Shiro noticed it: they were getting slower. His endurance would definitely beat out the kids.

The exit was getting close and he needed to act quick. He pretended like he was going to fall in their lane again, but last second before Shiro smacked into a large map of the mall he jumped right behind the kid again and could finally grab them.

Instead of grabbing the hood (which would’ve choked the kid) he grasped the edge of their hoodie and yanked them back, grabbing their shoulder and keeping them in place. The kid tried pushing him off but didn’t have the strength Shiro did. They sounded like they were trying to insult Shrio, but both of them were breathing too heavily to hear or say anything coherent for a good thirty seconds.

Once the kid gasped enough air they looked up at Shiro and smacked their shoulder back against Shiro’s chest once more, most likely for good measure.

It was then- as both of them were heaving for air- Shiro noticed it. What exactly he noticed Shiro didn’t know, which was a stupid to say in hindsight. But there was something in the kid's face that bugged him. Something that he knew but couldn’t quite place. It gnawed at him as he kept trying to pinpoint it. Was it their hair? The glasses? Did the kid remind him of someone or something?

“What?” the kid asked, still panting.

Shiro shook his head, snapping himself out of it. He didn’t answer and just tugged the kid along by their upper arm to the security offices. He laughed after a moment, “I’m glad something went my way today…”

For two minutes they walked in silence, the kid grasping their computer and backpack in a bear hug. The short run was enough to leave the kid breathing heavily a lot longer than Shiro panted. It seemed the only thing that even carried the kid in that chase was their weight, which let them run faster than Shiro for a short period.

As Shiro took peeks with side glances it looked like the kid was barely processing anything around them- which was weird given every young adult and teen Shiro dealt with had been either begging and crying or snarky and loud by that point. This one just looked like they was thinking deeply.

And the closer he looked the more something bugged him. The way the kid looked was hitting at Shiro’s head like a hammer and he couldn’t figure it out.

Shiro cleared his throat, “So. You sure you still wanna say you’re nineteen?” He joked, “If you just say you’re fifteen I could call your mom.”

The kid barely looked up at him, but for the moment they did it left Shiro feeling unnerved. _Okay, antagonizing them wasn’t a good idea_. Now there had an uncomfortable air between them.

For another minute or so the air held heavy and Shiro whistled lowly, “So, what’s your name, kid?”

The kid exhaled through their nose noisily and looked up at Shiro, “Do you try to make conversation with every person you catch?”

It was then Shiro’s turn to remain quiet. The kid hummed with small triumph and held their bag and laptop tighter

* * *

 

“Sit,” he nudged the kid to a chair in the holding room. Originally it was large storage closet but after realizing the police were too far from the mall to make it there under 30 minutes they repurposed it so none of the security officers had to wait for nearly an hour with their knee in someone's back. The kid slunk into the seat, but still held onto their belongings.

Shiro sat across from them, and the kid raised a brow, “Aren’t you gonna call the cops or something?”

They had a point, why wasn't he calling the police? Usually Shiro would've called the police on the walk to security. What was holding him back? Something told him it was the familiarity of the kid. He really want to know but the same time he had a duty to stop this kid from doing whatever they were doing on their computer.

His duty wasn’t going anywhere, though, and one question and a little bluff wouldn’t hurt it, “After you answer something for me,” Shiro said and sat down across from them, “And if you’re forthcoming then maybe I’ll let you off on a warning.”

The kid seemed to be a bit more attentive.

“What do you want to know?”

“What’s your name?”

“Pidge Gunderson.” It didn’t ring a bell, not like he’d hoped.

“Why’d you break into the mall?”

Pidge was hesitant. They stroked their computer with their thumb and chewed their lip before answering, “I was messing your cameras.”

Shiro rolled his eyes, “That’s obvious, but why?”

Shiro had a feeling he could have asked the kid for their social security and they'd be more willing to give it than explain why they were there. Pidge looked off to the side. It was the same look they had in hallway the entire way to security.

“Did your head of security not tell you anything from earlier?”

“No, she said it wasn’t any of our business- but I have a feeling that's changed.”

Pidge slumped further into the chair and refused to make eye contact, “I needed to break into your security tapes you had from last year. Your entire system is oddly strong for just a mall, so why is that?”

“You aren’t exactly in the position to be asking _me_ these things,” Shiro pointed out. “And you’re bouncing around the question. If you don’t answer it I can simply text the head of security and ask her myself.”

Pidge groaned and sat up in the chair a bit more, “I’m looking for someone. My brother and my dad.” They finally admitted, “they disappeared last year on a road trip and the police won't look for them. So, I’m doing it.”

Knowing how to react to something like that was hard. Shiro didn’t know what he’d hear but if he expected anything it wasn’t that. After a beat Shiro cleared his throat, “When- uh. When did they disappear?”

Pidge sighed, “Around July of last year they went on their yearly trip to this science and technology museum they like, and me and my mom only heard from them for about two or three days until they never replied again.”

Shiro had been discharged in June and went back to work later in the month. He was in the mall if they ever visited it.

“Who were they?” Shiro’s voice was lighter than he expected.

Without a second to lose Pidge dropped their belongings on the table and opened their laptop, “My dad is the head of his own Computer Security firm and my brother works for NASA.” After typing and clicking a bit they turned the computer to Shiro, “Their names are Sam and Matt.”

Unconsciously Shiro gasped, eyes widening with a feeling of having a thousand bricks being smacked against his head. Matt. Matt Matt _Matt **Matt**_. It all made sense and Pidge’s last name just threw him off too much to connect it.

Before him on the screen was a zoom in on a family photo; he could only see half of the mom’s head and the top of Pidge’s but Matt and Sam Holt were standing next to each other. It was obviously a Christmas card, and a hilariously bad one at that. Sam Holt had a reindeer held by someone off camera uncomfortably close to his face with a paper tongue licking his cheek, but his face was completely straight. Matt, on the other hand, was cradling a plastic garden gnome that wore a Santa Claus hat with an equally straight face. Both had comically bad Christmas sweaters on.

“What?” Pidge asked urgently, “What is it?”

“I knew Sam and Matt- Sam had a job fair at my high school and I worked with him and Matt-” Shiro shook his head and frowned, looking up at Pidge, “But Sam never had another son. Just a-”

“A daughter. I know.” Pidge took their laptop back, “I’m her. I took on Pidge Gunderson when I started this and I’m kinda attached. I’d rather you stick to it.” He shut his laptop and put it away in his bag.

Shiro rested his elbow on the table and pressed a fist to his mouth. He was such good friends with both Holts. If anything they were a family to him. He recalled the two times he’d met their family and took a glance up at Pidge. They looked different from before.

“Small world, I guess…” Pidge mummered. “But I still need to find them. Look, you can get as pissed with me as you want for screwing with your system but I can’t go to jail- not right now. I’m still looking for them, and you knew them, right?” Pidge leaned forward, “You have to know that they wouldn’t abandon their family even if they were mad at them.”

Shiro jiggled his leg, “Is that why the police aren’t involved?”

“Yeah, my parents were fighting at the time so the police just assumed that they left because of it. That's not the case though, no matter how bad things got my dad and brother would never leave like that.”

The older man sunk and rubbed his face. _This is crazy_ , he thought, _this cannot be happening_. It's all way too coincidental. He peaked a bit at Pidge through his fingers who looking at his hands silently. There's no way Shiro could bring himself to call the police. Sure, he hadn't seen Matt or Sam Holt in years but he remembered them clearly because they had such a impact on his life. They were loving people, they cared, they were his family when Shiro had none. And now they've been missing for a year. The likelihood of them being dead was high enough to churn Shiro’s stomach.

“So what happens now?” Pidge asked, voice low.

Shiro waved his hand, “I’m not calling the police. I can help you, but you need to understand that I can get in trouble for doing this. I could get fired and I’m already on rocky ground.”

If an asteroid hit the Earth Pidge wouldn't have known nor cared about it from how ecstatic they were. “Are you serious? Like, really?”

“Yes. _Really_ really. But you can’t tell anyone.”

Pidge shrugged, “I have no one to tell.”

Shiro stood up and pushed his chair in, “What about your mom?”

Pidge stood too, but was a lot slower and the air grew tighter, “She doesn’t know what I’m doing.”

Instead of pressing Shiro decided some things just weren’t his business, so he just nodded and opened the door for him.

Right away he led Pidge to the camera room, but before they entered he told him to wait, “I need to get rid of Lara first.” he whispered.

Pidge backed away from the door and jumped into the room across the hall so Lara wouldn’t see him.

Shiro walked in and Lara glanced up at him, “Hey, did you figure out the issue?” she asked

“Oh, yeah. It was interference- very oddly specific interference. I guess it just really hated Apple, Hot Topic, and American Eagle.”

Lara laughed, “That’s good. The last thing we need is some scoundrel on our hands and some stupid chase after them.”

“Yeah, totally. I would of hated it too.” he nodded in agreement. Shiro shoved his hand into his pocket and looked down at Lara, “By the way do you need to go to the restroom or something? Just take a break? I mean these halls don't urgently need someone walking up and down them all night and I can clearly see them here.”

Lara shrugged, “Not really. I usually go to the bathroom before work and I’ve gone a long time without eating. For example, one time I was hitch hiking with my dog Ronald and we got lost and it was like a week and finally his paw got stuck so I had to cut-”

“Are you sure?” Shiro asked, “I mean, wouldn’t you rather make sure you’re all good. Like, what if you do end up needing to take a break but can't because none of us is available. Not to mention I’d like to sit down for a moment or two. I’ve been up all day, so…”

She seemed to finally give in and nodded, “Oh, okay then. Yeah, of course. Then I’ll just be right back.” Lara stood up and offered the chair to Shiro, “You think Allura will get mad?”

He shrugged, “Nothing happens at night and Allura is probably never going to find out.” Shiro sat down and leaned in the chair. In all honesty it did feel pretty nice to sit. He hadn’t the opportunity since lunch.

Lara took another second to think before sighing, “Alright then,” she headed for the door, “You have a point as always-”

“Lara- the door!”

Before she had a chance Lara smacked into the door frame then stumbled back. Shiro started to stand to help but she waved at him, “I’m fine! Don’t worry, happens all the time!” She laughed and left, rubbing the side of her face.

He gave it a moment or two before shouting out, “Alright, Pidge.”

Pidge came out of the room across the way and into the camera room, shutting the door behind him. He walked straight to the camera feeds, “Someone has smooth moves.”

“She has bad eyesight. It was a whole grease incident at the food court where-”

“Holy shit” Pidge breathed, his eyebrows furrowing, “This is it? _This_ is all the camera rooms have?”

Shiro looked up, a bit surprised, “Well, yeah. What do you expect from a mall?”

“What I expect from a mall with a security system that took me until _today_ to crack is something a bit more… I don’t know, higher tech?” Pidge shook his head and walked to the side of the monitors to look at the back, “This is equipment from the 70s for a mall that's been more or less recently built. It doesn’t make sense…” He grumbled a bit.

Before Shiro spoke up Pidge took a step back, “That's besides the point, though-” he pulled a chair from the side and kicked Shiro’s rolly chair out of the way, “Where’s the old recordings?”

“They,” Shiro started, “Are over here.” He rolled over to one of the cabinets and sort through it until he spotted the previous year tab, pulling out a small plastic baggie and tossed it over.

Pidge caught it and complimented himself with a small, “Nice” then pulled out a USB drive. He dunked under the desk and shoved in the USB into one of the towers. He snatched his backpack to pull out another USB and plug it in as well, “I mean this explains a lot, why I couldn’t find the files. They were all filed alway.”

“Every couple of months we pack the videos into a USB for safekeeping.” Shiro explained

“Okay, now to find July…” Pidge's eyes narrowed at the screen. “Knowing my brother and dad they had to have stopped by this candy store. The year before they went missing they went to one of them in a mall and Matt is in love with it. So, maybe they went there... It’s Miracle Joys or something like that.”

“Joys and Miracles.” Corrected Shiro, and he grabbed the mouse, “You’re lucky it's on this side of the mall.”

Pidge looked offended for a brief moment for having the mouse stolen, but didn’t say anything and just tucked his hands between his legs, “What’a you mean?”

Shiro made a copy of all the tapes from that day, dragging it into Pidge’s USB, “The mall is separated by East and West. We’re on the East side, and if it was on the West we’d need to go into their offices and pick it out.”

When it finished copying Shiro ejected both USBs and Pidge pulled them out, making sure he handed the right one to Shiro, “Why be separated like that? Wouldn’t it be easier to just have one office for security?”

“Easier? Definanty. Make me personally happy? Extremely. A good security move? No.” He put the stick in the baggie and rolled back to the cabinet to put it away, “It would be easy to break into any store in the mall. Security holds all the passcodes and keys for the stores, so if security was just one office it’d be easy to take any passcode you want at once. ” They also switch out the passcodes between West and East wing to double make sure that each store was safe. It was understandable to a degree since there are expensive stores in the mall. Though, Shiro vocalize that, just in case Pidge got any ideas.

Pidge picked up his backpack, “Makes sense I guess... “

Shiro looked over at the cameras and his eyes widen. He stood up quickly and started to push Pidge back to the hall, “Hurry and hide again. I know how to get you out through these offices but Lara is walking back so just wait a moment longer.”

“I can do it without all the shoving.” He complained, but did as told.

* * *

Through a door next to Allura’s office there was a fire exit whose bell had broken years ago but no one had yet gotten it fixed. When Shiro opened it Pidge looked like he was about to have a heart attack but when no alarm went off he huffed in relief.

To avoid anyone walking down the hall and seeing Pidge, both of them stood outside with Shiro’s foot in the way of the door so it wouldn’t close and lock behind him, “So, that’s it. Is there anything else you need from the mall?”

Pidge shrugged, digging his hands into his pockets against the night chill, “I won’t know until I look at the tape, but I think I’ll be good. Uh, thanks, a lot. Takashi?” he narrowed his eyes at his badge.

Shiro looked down then laughed and shook his head, “Shiro. Shirogane Takashi, actually, but just Shiro works.”

“Okay. Thanks, Shiro. I’ll be- uhm, going then?” Pidge jabbed his thumbs behind him as he started to walk backwards, a bit awkwardly.

Then something nagged at Shiro. If Pidge hadn’t told his mom where he was, did he have anywhere to stay? Did he have money to _find_ a place to stay? Shiro wanted to let it go, and almost did as Pidge turned away, but it dawned on him that this was his old friend’s family he was watching go. He didn’t think he could live with himself if Pidge was sleeping at a run down motel or a stranger's couch.

So he said, “Hey.”

Pidge turned, surprised, “Yeah?”

“Do you have somewhere you’re staying? Somewhere safe?” He asked. “And I don’t mean a nineteen year old’s version of safe- actual safe. No bugs or creepy strangers?”

“I don’t know,” Pidge shrugged and tilted his head, “If I suck them off are we considered strangers?”

Shiro’s eyes widened, “What?”

His face broke and Pidge snorted loudly, covering his face, “I’m joking, I swear! I do have a good place for now, the Red Roof Inn in the center of town.”

Shiro could have left it at that, settled with the confirmation that he was going to be okay. Pidge managed to drag himself two states over just fine, that obviously meant he could carry himself from one place to another. Still, Shiro _had_ to press, for some _stupid_ reason he still pressed, “Take my number.” He offered,”That way if something goes wrong you have a friend out here.”

Pidge’s face froze up, and they looked genuinely shocked. For a moment Shiro realized that maybe _he_ was the creepy stranger. But then a huge grin spread across Pidge’s face, “Okay!”

* * *

“I can't _believe_ we’re fucking stuck in here.” Keith groaned, head pressed against the wall in the back room.

Right after they discovered their doom of being trapped all he did was pace before tripping over one of the boxes sticking out from under the table. Then he complained about the messy state of the store before settling on sitting and contemplating the situation they were in.

Lance shrugged, spread out across the floor like a starfish- a position he accomplished by shoving all the boxes out of the way and nearly causing a ladder in the room to topple over. “At least we found my sisters gifts!” He’d made sure to slide the money into the cracks of the register the best he could before simply sticking it on the counter.

“Worse of all,” Keith looked down at Lance, “I’m stuck here with you.”

Lance snorted, “Wow, dick much? Have you ever considered what I might be going through?” He craned his head up to look at Keith, an uncomfortable angle for him to be in and for Keith to look at, “I can handle you when we go out to bars- the others who work for me I can talk to when you become too much. But in seclusion? For another-” Lance brought his arm up dramatically to count then let it slap to the ground, “-Six hours? Maybe seven?” He scoffed and turned to his side, curling into a ball, “I don't get it, you have your phone, why not just call someone to let us out?”

The security officer jumped in his seat, “No way! If I did that do you know how pissed Shiro would be? I’ve already fucked up once today, and if he were to find out we were trapped in here for a stupid gift? I don't think he’d trust me again, period.” Keith stood up, new vigor in his steps, “There has to be another way, if any.”

Lance curled tight into a ball as Keith started to pace again to avoid being kicked. He hoped when the officer tripped again he’d hit his head and nap until the morning. “There’s nothing here. The shutters are blocked, there are no back exits in this room to one of the hallways, and the vents are too small to crawl through. Just give it a rest and wait until morning.” As he laid there, on the disgusting dusty floor that probably hadn’t been swept in weeks, Lance slowly smirked into the crook of his arm, “Unless you’re too desperate and can’t take a challenge…”

Keith halted, and furrowed his brows as he stared at a cringey Claire themed poster on the wall, “What?”

“You know, being stuck in here with me. Me being stuck here with you. Which one of us will lose it first before we’re clamoring to get out? Could you take it?”

Keith turned and snorted, “Of course I can take it. If anything you’d crack in the next hour.”

Lance sat up quickly, his cockiness dissolving into irritation, “Oh really? Then let's do it, you ass. First one to get desperate and want out loses.” He extended a hand to Keith.

The security officer smirked smugly, “Alright, deal. Whoever breaks first loses."

"What does the winner get? Ooh! How about the loser has to pay the winner thirty bucks!"

Keith hummed, debating on how he'd feel about getting 30 bucks when he won, then shrugged, "Make it fifty and you got a deal" He grabbed Lance's hand and they both shook on it.

For the first hour it wasn't so bad. While neither of them could really sleep on a floor so hard with many cracks and more than four sightings of spiders larger than the palms of their hands both Lance and Keith kept to themselves. Then the realization that one of them could leave in the morning with fifty dollars that's when it went downhill.

It started with Lance blowing raspberries and humming. He kept insisting it was just something he was doing to keep himself entertained- and my **_god_ ** Keith you wouldn't rob a small time mall daycare owner of sparse entertainment would you? Even though he said yes Lance continued.

Then Keith continuously tapped and jiggled his leg. It was no secret Lance could only be around Shiro for so long until he lost his nerve. The guy was so jittery it was hard for Lance to think straight without his irritation rising. A lot of people believed that since Lance owned a Kiddie Care center he'd be mostly immune to small things like bouncing your leg. But they were wrong. Lance had snapped at Keith, threatening that if he didn't stop it was just gonna get worse from there. Keith shrugged and tapped fingers a bit faster.

After that Lance started asking stupid stuff, in the most subtly annoying voice he could manage. He started off with questions about pigeons. "You ever wonder if pigeons are embarrassed about diarrhea?" Then it went on to even more ridiculous topics: "Elmo's been on TV for so long so he has to at least be in his twenties. That means he had to have fucked at least one person- do you think Big Bird topped Elmo? Or the other way around?" "So if a kid were to eat his own puke everytime he got sick would he become even **_more_** immune to the disease or the same amount of immune?" (“What the fuck does that even _mean_ , Lance?”) "Theoretically, if I broke mall equipment and- _theoretically_ , mind you- I shoved it in your locker, how much trouble would I get in? Again, theoretically." "If a baby already had eggs in it while in their mom could they make another baby? And in that case how many babies could baby inception go?"

Keith, despite punching a dent into the plastic fold out table in the back, stayed quiet. He let Lance go on and on and on until Keith spotted gold: a pack of gum hidden between boxes with a piece of paper saying " **Do not eat!!!! I'm Zoe's!!!!!** " He ate a piece when Lance wasn't looking and slowly began to smack louder and louder. It was hard to Lance to keep up his stupid questions when his eye and hand twitched every time Keith chewed. Finally he just kicked Keith's leg hard enough for him to accidentally swallow the gum. (And almost choke- but hey he's licensed in CPR)

It kept on like that for two hours straight until they ended up just yelling at eachother as quietly possible (not to alert any guards outside Claire's) and stormed around the store passive aggressively until Lance ended up laying on one side of the hats and scarves display while Keith laid on the other, both formally stating that one half of the store was Keith’s and the others Lance’s. Lance has the break room side, so he deemed himself pretty lucky, but Keith had the exit.

"Hey Keith?"

"I swear to god if this is another question on how frogs should eat soybeans to produce soy milk I'm gonna fucking kill you."

"No, nothin’ like that," Lance mummered. Both of them were pretty drained. Three hours in and they still had a handful amount of hours left. "I still cant sleep. Even with my feather boa pillow."

Keith grumbled, "These fluffy hats aren't doing much either."

Lance hummed and both remained quiet for another minute while he tapped fingers against his stomach. Finally, he popped his lips, “So, wanna play a game?”

“Why would I want to do that?” Keith scoffed, “We’re trying to sleep, not screw around.”

“Well excuse me, I thought that since neither of us could sleep we could just talk until we get tired.” Lance shifted and turned to his side, “I guess not though. Good night then.”

Keith sighed angrily, “No, just- I. What did you want to do?”

Lance chewed the inside of his cheek before accepting the unspoken apology, “I don’t know. Twenty two questions?”

“That’s what you came up? Out of anything?”

“Okay asshole what do you think we can do in a Claire's smaller than Paris Hilton’s walk in closet?”

“... You have a point.” Keith was too tired to really think of anything better than the game people used to get to know each other on a first date. He thought how bad it could get but was too tired to really care at all, “Okay. You first.”

Lance got giddy and turned to his other side, facing the scarf display. There was a candy wrapper on the floor and he flicked it out of the way, “Uhh, favorite color?” That was a lame question and they both knew it.

Still, Keith answered, “Red. Or white. You?”

“Yellow all the way.”

“Really? You wear way too much green to like yellow.”

“Okay, shut up, there's only so many good looking clothes that are yellow. Now it's your turn.”

Keith had to _really_ think. If he wanted to know something he might as well ask now, and there was one thing that did make him wonder. “How do you know Shiro?

Lance raised a brow that Keith couldn’t see. He half expected them to stick to stupid, generic questions, but nonetheless answered, “Well, I’ve been hanging around the mall my entire life, to be honest. My parents used to own a store here and Shiro came around when I was, like, almost in High School.

“What about you? Shiro told me he’s known you for a long time.”

Keith was hesitant. Why should he answer? It really isn’t Lance’s business, and it wasn’t like they were the best of friends who wanted to know everything about each other. On top of that he’s only known the guy two weeks, most of which were consisted of angrily yelling at eachother and passive aggressively driving to bars.

On the other hand he's the one that started asking the personal questions. It was only fair to answer another in return. He sighed, “I was like sixteen and there was this Big Brother program I was put in.”

Lance nodded, “Did you start working here because of Shiro?”

“Yeah. I failed getting into the police force. Then, I remembered I called Shiro as a recommendation a year before and I knew he was a mall officer. Told him about what happened and he offered to help me out.”

Lance laughed, “I can see that. Shiro's a good guy, always wanting to help out others.”

Keith smiled in his own right, turning his head from the shelves even though they couldn't see each other, “Yeah, he is... “ he turned his head to the ceiling again, “So, why did you open your own shop in the mall?”

“Well, long story short my parents couldn't keep their business, and I convinced a couple of big name guys to hand the deed to me. Now none of those high and mighty suits aren't regretting a thing, despite what a couple of them used to whisper.”

Keith had to admit- he was impressed. Out of all the things he managed, Lance was able to buy his family’s plot and keep it? That took some skill, but Keith wouldn't be caught dead stating any of that.

“Uhhh,” Lance slurred, “how about this: why are you so good at keeping in alcohol? I know you’ve got more pounds than me but not to the point where you're a hardcore heavyweight.”

Keith actually laughed at that one, and he would blame it on the drowsiness in the morning, “I’m just a natural born heavyweight, not much I can say. I can keep my head straight for a bit but that doesn't mean I don't get hung over, though.”

“Wow, well fuck you.” He mummered without bitterness. Lance sat up and grabbed two more scarves to shove under his head, “Anything else, Keith?”

After a couple of seconds Keith sighed and turned to his side, “Nah, can’t think of anything at the moment. I’m gettin’ pretty tired anyways.”

Lance hummed, twisting around and leaning into the makeshift pillow.

**Author's Note:**

> any mistakes hmu. IHeartSnuffles(ao3)/iheartpkmn(tumblr) beta'd


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